Continuous Coating Method

ABSTRACT

Disclosed are methods and systems for continuously coating food pieces. The methods include a steps of directing and uncoated food stream through an enrober to apply a first coating to at least a portion of a surface of each food piece to form a coated stream and continuously redirecting a portion of the coated stream back through the enrober along with the stream of uncoated food pieces to apply at least one additional coating to the portion of the coated stream.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application represents a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 14/538,803, filed Nov. 11, 2014, pending, which claims thebenefit of PCT Application No. PCT/US14/39249, filed May 22, 2014, theentire content of these applications is incorporated herein byreference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed generally to food products and totheir methods of preparation. In particular, the present invention isdirected to a continuous coating method for coating food pieces.

BACKGROUND

Coatings are incorporated into foods for various reasons. Coatings canprovide protection of food pieces, prevent or delay moisture or oiluptake, maintain a desired moisture content, provide flavor orsweetening, add a nutritional component, provide a desired texture, orprovide a desired appearance, among other things.

The number of coatings on a piece of food is generally determined by themethod used to apply the coating. Some methods, such as enrobing, can beused to apply a single coating per pass. Some methods of coating foodproducts, such as panning, can result in multiple coatings.

Most current methods result in products that are generally homogenouslycoated, resulting in a homogenous appearance and texture amongst thecoated pieces. There exists, therefore, a need for a continuous coatingmethod that results in a more visually and texturally interestingproduct.

SUMMARY

Provided herein are methods and compositions relating to coating foodpieces.

In one embodiment, a method of making a food composition is provided.The method includes, providing a stream of uncoated food pieces,directing the stream through an enrober to apply a first coating to atleast a portion of a surface of each food piece to form a coated stream,and continuously redirecting a portion of the coated stream back throughthe enrober along with the stream of uncoated food pieces to apply atleast one additional coating to the portion of the coated stream. Thefood pieces can be, for example, ready-to-eat (RTE) cereal pieces, nutsor confections.

The portion of the coated stream that is redirected is from about 20% toabout 65% of the coated stream.

The coating can include particulates derived from a RTE cereal product.The coating can include a liquid component and a dry component. Theenrober can include a first portion that applies the liquid componentand a second portion that applies the dry component.

In an embodiment, a composition is provided including a plurality offood pieces each comprising one or more coatings, the coatings of theplurality of food pieces being distributed over a range of thicknessesrepresenting a range of number of coating layers. The range of number ofcoating layers can be 1 to 8 layers. Food pieces in the compositionhaving 1 coating layer can represent about 35% to about 80% of theplurality of food pieces. Food pieces in the composition having 2 coatscan represent about 16% to about 23% of the plurality of food pieces.Food pieces in the composition having at least 3 coats can representabout 4% to about 42% of the plurality of food pieces.

The food pieces can include, for example, RTE cereal pieces, nuts orconfections.

The coatings can include particulates derived from a RTE cereal product.

In another embodiment, a composition is provided including a pluralityof base food pieces each coated with a coating, the coating comprisingparticulates derived from a RTE cereal product. The base food pieces caninclude RTE cereal pieces. The base food piece and the food piece fromwhich the particulates are derived can be the same or different.

In an embodiment, a system for making a food composition. The systemincludes an enrober configured to apply a coating to food pieces toproduce a stream of coated food pieces, a splitting apparatus configuredto split the stream of coated food pieces into at least two streamportions, and a conveyor configured to redirect at least one streamportion back through the enrober.

The system can further include a dryer configured dry the coating priorto the splitting apparatus. The system can further include a secondenrober configured to apply a second coating to food pieces. The systemcan further include a second conveyor configured to direct at least onestream portion through the second enrober. The system can furtherinclude an apparatus configured to select coated pieces in the stream ofcoated food pieces by size or weight.

The enrober can be configured to separately apply a liquid component ofthe coating and a dry component of the coating.

The at least one stream portion directed to the second enrober can beselected by size or weight.

In an embodiment, an enrober is provided. The enrober includes a firstdrum-type enrober component configured to apply a liquid component of acoating to a stream of food pieces, a second drum-type enrober componentconfigured to tumble a dry component of the coating with food piecesincluding the liquid component, a conveyor configured to convey a streamof food pieces from the first drum-type enrober component into thesecond drum-type enrober component and to convey the dry component intothe second drum-type enrober component, and a dispenser componentconfigured to apply the dry component of the coating to the conveyorbeneath the stream of food pieces.

Additional objects, features and advantages of the present inventionwill become more readily apparent from the following detaileddescription of the invention with reference to the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following drawings are illustrative of particular embodiments of theinvention and therefore do not limit the scope of the invention. Thedrawings are not necessarily to scale (unless so stated) and areintended for use in conjunction with the explanations in the followingdetailed description. Some embodiments of the invention will hereinafterbe described in conjunction with the appended drawings, wherein likenumerals denote like elements.

FIG. 1 is a flow diagram representing a method for a continuous coatingmethod for coating food pieces, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram representing a method for a continuous coatingmethod for coating food pieces, according to another embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a schematic representing a system for coating food pieces,according to an embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a schematic representing a system for coating food pieces,according to another embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a graph showing distributions of coatings on food piecescoated using a continuous coating method using 20%, 35%, 50%, and 65%recycle rates, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a photograph of sample food pieces coated using a continuouscoating method with a 50% recycle rate, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a photograph of cross sections of samples of food piecescoated using a continuous coating method with a 50% recycle rate,according to an embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a set of photographs showing samples of food pieces coatedwith a coating comprising particulates derived from a RTE cereal,according to an embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a set of photographs showing sample of food pieces coated witha coating comprising particulates derived from a RTE cereal, accordingto an embodiment.

The following detailed description is exemplary in nature and is notintended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of theinvention in any way. Rather, the following description provides somepractical illustrations for implementing exemplary embodiments of thepresent invention. Examples of constructions, materials, dimensions, andmanufacturing processes are provided for selected elements, and allother elements employ that which is known to those of ordinary skill inthe field of the invention. Those skilled in the art will recognize thatmany of the noted examples have a variety of suitable alternatives.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure is directed to methods of coating food pieces andto compositions comprising coated food pieces. The present methods haveparticular utility in the provision of coated food pieces ofpresweetened ready to eat (RTE) cereals, though other food pieces (e.g.,nuts, marbits, dried fruits, candies, seeds, puffed popcorn, and thelike) are also contemplated. Thus, while steps of the present methodsare described in detail below for a RTE cereal product, it is to beunderstood that the methods and ingredients can be adjusted for coatingother food piece types.

Methods provided herein can provide a visually and texturallyinteresting food product in a continuous coating process by providing afood composition that includes food pieces having coatings distributedover a range of thicknesses.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a method for continuously coating foodpieces includes a step 12, 120 of providing a stream of uncoated foodpieces. Uncoated food pieces can be provided in any appropriate manner.In some embodiments, a stream of uncoated food pieces can be providedfrom a production line. For example, in some embodiments, a methodprovided herein can be incorporated into an existing method for making afood product. In some embodiments, uncoated food pieces can be producedahead of time and later fed into a continuous coating method providedherein.

A stream of uncoated food pieces are directed through an enrober toapply a first coating to at least a portion of a surface of each foodpiece to form a coated stream. Any appropriate coating can be applied.Suitable coatings include, for example a sugar syrup, a fat-basedcoating (e.g., an oil or chocolate), a particulate (e.g., RTE cerealdust or crumbs, cracker dust or crumbs, cookie dust or crumbs, fruitpieces, granola, seed or nut bits, candy bits, bran, baby oat flakes),seasonings (e.g., cheese powder, herb powders, salt), and the like, orcombinations thereof. In some embodiments, particulates resulting fromthe manufacture of the food pieces to be coated can be included in acoating used in a method provided herein. It is to be understood that aparticulate used for coating a food piece as provided herein should besuitably sized for the food piece to be coated. Generally, a particulatesuitable for use in a coating of a food piece is significantly smaller(e.g., at least 50% smaller, at least 75% smaller, or at least 90%smaller) than the average size of the food piece to be coated.

In some embodiments, a particulate suitable for use in coating of a foodpiece is derived from a food piece of the same type as the food piece tobe coated. For example, a RTE cereal piece can be coated with a coatingcomprising a particulate derived from a RTE cereal, though notnecessarily of the same type of RTE cereal, or a cookie. A particulatecan be derived from a food piece can be produced in any suitable manner.For example, a particulate derived from a food piece can be made duringthe production of the food piece, such as dust or crumbs collected fromthe process of making the food piece, or uncoated or coated food piecescan be broken into smaller pieces specifically for the purpose of usingthe smaller pieces as a dry component of a coating. Coatings including aparticulate derived from a food piece can provide a benefit of producinga food product that incorporates a by-product of the production of afood make process, thereby reducing waste. In some embodiments, coatinga food piece with a coating that includes a particulate derived from thesame or another food piece can result in a coated food piece that is hasan interesting flavor, texture, and/or appearance.

In some embodiments, as illustrated in FIG. 1, a coating can be appliedin a single step 14. In some embodiments, as illustrated in FIG. 2, acoating can be applied (step 140) in two or more steps (e.g., 142, 144).For example, a liquid component of a coating can be applied (step 142)separately from a dry component of a coating (step 144). In someembodiments, coating in two or more steps can be used to reduce buildupof coating components in or on an enrober. In some embodiments, coatingin two or more steps can be used to increase adherence of one or morecomponents to the food pieces. In some embodiments, a method in which acoating is applied in two or more steps can be useful if components in adesired coating do not easily combine, or easily separate, or areotherwise difficult to apply in a single step. For example, a coatingthat includes a component that can be readily applied with a spraynozzle and a component that would clog a spray nozzle can be applied intwo or more steps in order to prevent clogging.

Any amount or rate of application of a coating can be used asappropriate for the type of food piece to be coated. For example, asugar syrup can be applied to pieces of a RTE cereal base at a ratewhere the weight ratio of the stream of uncoated pieces to sugar syrupranges from about 10:1 to about 1:2 (e.g., from about 5:1 to about 1:2,about 2:1 to about 1:2, or about 1:1) to form the coated stream. In someembodiments, a RTE cereal base that has been coated with a sugar syrupcan further be coated with a particulate (e.g., a RTE cereal crumb) at arate where the weight ratio of the stream of uncoated pieces toparticulate is from about 1:100 to about 10:1 (e.g., from about 10:1 toabout 1:5, about 5:1 to about 1:1, or about 2:1) to form the coatedstream. The amount or rate of application of a coating can be adjustedto produce a desired coating and/or to account for the desireddistribution of the range of thicknesses of coatings in a compositionproduced by a method provided herein.

Following the coating step 14, 140, the coated stream is split 16, 160into two or more portions or substreams. One portion is continuouslyredirected 18, 180 back to the enrober along with the stream of uncoatedfood pieces to receive at least one additional coating. Food pieces thatare redirected through the enrober to receive at least one additionalcoating to enter the coated stream. Thus, the continuous redirectionstep 18, 180 provides for the possibility for a single food piece topass through the enrober multiple times, with the probability ofmultiple pass throughs being dependent on the size of the portion thatis redirected back to the enrober (i.e., recycle rate).

The recycle rate at step 18, 180 can be from about 10% to about 90%(e.g., from about 20% to about 65%, from about 30% to about 60%, fromabout 35% to about 80%, about 33%, about 50%, or about 75%) of thecoated food stream. The recycle rate generally determines thedistribution of coating number on food pieces in a food compositionproduced by a method provided herein. The larger the redirected portion,the greater the portion of food pieces in the composition having morethan one coating. The distribution of coating number can be estimated bycalculating the proportion of pieces expected to be recoated at eachpass through the enrober. The percentage of food pieces expected to havea given number of coatings can be calculated using Formula 1:

$P = {\left( {100 - R} \right)*\left( \frac{R}{100} \right)^{n - 1}}$

where P is the proportion as a percentage of food pieces having numberof coats n, and R is recycle rate as a percentage. For example, if therecycle rate is 35%, it can be calculated that about 65% of food pieceswill pass through the enrober to receive 1 coat, while about 22.8% willreceive 2 coats, about 8% will receive 3 coats, about 2.8% will receive4 coats, and the like. FIG. 5 illustrates the estimated distribution ofcoating numbers for several examples of recycle rates.

In some embodiments, the portion that is redirected back to the enrobercan be selected to result in a desired distribution of coatingthicknesses of the final food product. The distribution of coatingnumbers on food pieces in a food composition produced by a methodprovided herein can generally correlate with the distribution ofthicknesses of coatings on food pieces in the composition. For example,a food piece having 4 coatings applied by a continuous coating methodprovided herein generally has a thicker coating than a food piece having2 coatings applied by the same continuous coating method. However, it isto be understood that the number of coatings may not directly correlatewith a specific thickness and vice versa. For example, a food piecehaving 4 coatings applied by a continuous coating method provided hereinmay not necessarily have a coating that is twice as thick as a coatingon a food piece having 2 coatings applied by the same continuous coatingmethod.

In some embodiments, the portion that is redirected back to the enrobercan be selected based on the capacity of the equipment used in themethod. For example, a portion can be selected based on the capacity ofthe enrober and/or the feed rate of the stream of uncoated food pieces.

A recycle rate selected for use in a method provided herein need notremain constant or continuous during the method. For example, a recyclerate may be increased or decreased in order to produce a desiredproduct. In another example, recycling can be stopped for a period oftime. The distribution of coating numbers on food pieces in a foodcomposition produced by a method having a variable recycle rate can beestimated based on the specific variables involved, such as the feedrate(s) of the stream of uncoated food pieces, the recycle rates used,and the length of time each recycle rate is used.

In some embodiments, a method provided herein can include additionalsteps. For example, in some embodiments, a coated food stream can bedried (e.g., by passing the coated food stream through a dryer) prior tosplitting the coated stream (step 16, 160) or prior to redirecting aportion of the coated stream back to the enrober (step 18, 180). In someembodiments, a size and/or weight selection step can be used to affectdistribution of coating thickness and/or number. For example, coatedfood pieces in a coated stream can be size and/or weight selected priorto splitting the coated stream (step 16, 160) in order to select whichpieces to recycle, or food pieces in a coated stream can be size and/orweight selected prior to redirecting a portion of the coated stream backto the enrober (step 18, 180) in order to remove food pieces having anumber of coatings that may be too hard or too large for consumption. Insome embodiments, food pieces that are removed can broken into smallerpieces for the purpose of using the smaller pieces as a dry component ofa coating.

In some embodiments, one or more additional portions of the coatedstream can be redirected to one or more additional enrobers to applycoatings. The one or more additional enrobers can be used for a singlecoating or may be similarly configured to have a subsequent stream splitand recycled through them. Coatings applied by the one or moreadditional enrobers can be the same or differ from the enrober used instep 14, 140.

A system for performing a continuous coating method provided hereinincludes any suitable component for performing the method, as well asany additional steps included in the method. For example, as shown inFIG. 3, a system 200 includes an enrober 300 configured to apply acoating to food pieces from a stream of uncoated food pieces 220 toproduce a stream of coated food pieces 240. As used herein, an enroberincludes one or more components configured to apply a single coating toa food piece. An enrober can include any appropriate device for applyinga coating to food pieces, and can be selected based on the type ofcoating desired and/or the type of food piece to be coated. For example,a drum-type enrober component can be used to apply a coating (e.g., asugar syrup) to RTE cereal pieces or food pieces of similar size and/ordensity. In a drum-type enrober component, the food pieces and thecoating and hot concentrated coating formulation are deposited in anyorder into a rotating drum and tumbled for a sufficient time to achievean even distribution of the coating on the pieces. In another example, alooped conveyor component can be used to apply a powdered coating tofood pieces by tumbling the powdered coating and the food pieces in asimilar manner to a drum-type enrober component. In another example, asprayer or a liquid curtain can be used to apply liquid or fat-basedcoating to food pieces.

In some embodiments, an enrober can include components that apply aliquid component and a dry component of a coating separately. Such anenrober can reduce buildup of components of the coating in one or moreenrober component. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 4, enrober 1000can include two drum-type enrober components 1100, 1200, where the firstdrum-type enrober component 1100 is configured to apply a liquidcomponent of a coating (e.g., a sugar syrup and/or an oil) to a streamof uncoated food pieces 1010, and the second drum-type enrober component1200 applies a dry component of the coating (e.g., a particulate). Insome embodiments, the first drum-type enrober component 1100 can feeddirectly into second drum-type enrober component 1200, where a drycomponent 1050 of the coating is tumbled with food pieces including theliquid component 1020 to adhere the dry component to the food pieces toform a coated food stream 1030.

In some embodiments, a stream of food pieces including the liquidcomponent 1020 exiting the first drum-type enrober component 1100 can beconveyed by a conveyor 1300 (e.g., a belt conveyor) to the seconddrum-type enrober component 1200. In some embodiments, enrober 1000includes a dispenser component 1400 configured to apply a dry component1050 to the conveyor 1300 beneath the stream of food pieces includingthe liquid component 1020 can be used to prevent the food piecesincluding the liquid component 1020 from sticking to conveyor 1300. Drycomponent 1050 and food pieces including the liquid component 1020 canthen be deposited into the second drum-type enrober component 1200,where the dry component 1050 and the food pieces including the liquidcomponent 1020 are tumbled to adhere the dry component 1050 to the foodpieces including the liquid component 1020 to form a coated food stream1030.

A system 200 for performing a continuous coating method also includes asplitting apparatus 400 configured to split the stream of coated foodpieces 240 into two or more portions. The splitting apparatus 400 isalso configured to direct one portion of the split stream to a conveyor500 that continuously redirects the portion back through the enrober 300along with the stream of uncoated food pieces 220. Conveyor 500 can beany suitable apparatus or combination of apparatuses capable ofconveying a portion of a coated stream to the enrober 300. For example,in some embodiments, conveyor 500 can include a pneumatic conveyor.Other apparatuses for use as conveyor 500 can include, withoutlimitation, a belt conveyor, a chain conveyor, a screw conveyor, avibrating conveyor, a roller conveyor, and the like, or combinationsthereof.

In some embodiments, a system 200 includes additional components forperforming a method provided herein. Examples of additional componentsinclude, without limitation a dryer 400 (e.g., a rotary bed, tray, orbelt dryer), a sieve or scalper for size selection (not shown), anapparatus for dust and/or crumb removal (e.g., a filter; not shown), acomponent for storage of coated or uncoated pieces or coating components(e.g., a hopper), and the like. It is to be understood that, in someembodiments, a system 200 can be part of a manufacturing line thatincludes food piece production upstream and/or drying, packaging, orother processes downstream. For example, a system 200 can be included aspart of a manufacturing line for any appropriate food piece base.Systems and methods for making a food piece base are found in, forexample, U.S. Pat. No. 3,464,827, (issued Sep. 2, 1969 to T. Tsuchiya,et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 3,600,193, (issued Aug. 17, 1971 to E. F. Glabel,et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 3,246,990, (issued Apr. 19, 1966 to Thompson, etal.); and U.S. Pat. No. 3,687,687, (issued Aug. 29, 1972 to A. L.Liepa), each of which is incorporated herein by reference.Conventionally, a coated RTE cereal coated with a with a sugar syrupcoating is subjected to a drying step to provide a shelf stable product.

For those food products requiring low moisture contents, drying can beperformed prior to coating. Typically, for example, puffed cereal basesare dried to relatively low moisture contents (e.g., less than about10%) in order to have the desired crispness or frangibility.

A food composition is provided herein that includes a plurality of basefood pieces each coated with one or more coatings distributed over arange. As described above, the distribution of coating numbers can beestimated by calculating the proportion of pieces expected to berecoated at each pass through the enrober by using Formula 1. In someembodiments, the distribution of coating numbers can generally correlatewith a distribution of coating thicknesses. A food composition thatincludes a plurality of base food pieces each coated with one or morecoatings distributed over a range can be identified using anyappropriate method. For example, in some embodiments, a distribution ofcoating thicknesses can be estimated by individually measuring coatthicknesses from cross-sections of a plurality of coated food pieces. Insome embodiments, a distribution of coating thicknesses can be estimatedby individually weighing a plurality of coated food pieces. In someembodiments, a distribution of coating thicknesses can be estimated byindividually measuring the size of a plurality of coated food pieces, asillustrated in FIG. 6.

EXAMPLES Example 1

A light colored, unsweetened, puffed corn RTE cereal with a moisturecontent of about 7% that was roughly spherical in shape was fed at arate of about 13 pounds per minute into a rotating drum-type enrobercomponent (drum 1). A liquid component comprising a sugar slurry (˜21%moisture) and an oil was sprayed into drum 1 at a rate of 14 pounds perminute sugar slurry and 0.4 pounds per minute oil. The RTE cereal wasthen deposited onto a belt-type conveyor that had crumbs from a darkcolored, chocolate flavored cookie (˜4% moisture) applied to it at arate of about 7 pounds per minute. The RTE cereal and crumbs wereconveyed into a second rotating drum-type enrober component (drum 2)where the RTE cereal and crumbs were tumbled to adhere the crumbs to theRTE cereal to form coated cereal pieces. The coated cereal pieces weredried to a moisture content of about 2% in a drier and exited the drierin a stream at a rate of about 62 pounds per minute. The stream ofcoated and dried pieces was split in half (recycle rate of 50%) and halfof the coated, dried pieces were redirected back to drum 1 using apneumatic conveyor, to enter drum 1 along with the uncoated stream. Theremainder of the stream of coated and dried pieces were collected fortesting.

FIG. 6 shows pieces of finished cereal sampled after about 2 hours ofcontinuous recycling at a 50% recycle rate. Pieces ranged in size offrom about 0.5 inches to about 0.75 inches. Sugar content was measuredand is provided in Table 1. It was observed that smaller piecescollected from a continuous coating system had a lower sugar contentthan expected compared to pieces coated only once in a non-recycledsystem. Without being bound to theory, it may be that pieces alreadyhaving at least 1 coating may receive a larger proportion of slurry thanexpected due to a greater surface area, therefore reducing the amount ofslurry adhering to uncoated pieces. However, the overall sugar contentper serving in a cereal made using a continuous coating/recycle methodwas similar to a cereal made with no recycling and a single coating.

Sample Total sugar (%) g sugar per 30 g serving No recycle #1 32 9.7 Norecycle #2 31 9.3 Recycle #1 33 10 Recycle #2 34 10.2 Recycle - largepieces only 46 13.8 Recycle - small pieces only 34 7.2

Pictures of cross sections of pieces produced by a continuouscoating/recycle process are shown in FIG. 7, showing a range of coatingthicknesses. It was observed that, after 2 hours of recycling, pieceswith more coatings had a smoother appearance than pieces with fewercoatings. Without being bound to theory, it is possible that as piecesare recycled, the coatings are abraded smooth. It is also possible thata greater number of coatings fill in rough areas in the coating.

Example 2

A light colored, unsweetened, puffed corn RTE cereal with a moisturecontent of about 7% that was roughly spherical in shape was fed at arate of about 13 pounds per minute into a rotating drum-type enrobercomponent (drum 1). A liquid component comprising a sugar slurry (˜21%moisture) and an oil was sprayed into drum 1 at a rate of 14 pounds perminute sugar slurry and 0.4 pounds per minute oil. The RTE cereal wasthen deposited onto a belt-type conveyor that had crumbs from a lightcolored, graham cracker flavored RTE cereal (˜2% moisture) applied to itat a rate of about 7 pounds per minute. The RTE cereal and crumbs wereconveyed into a second rotating drum-type enrober component (drum 2)where the RTE cereal and crumbs were tumbled to adhere the crumbs to theRTE cereal to form coated cereal pieces. The coated cereal pieces weredried to a moisture content of about 2% in a drier and exited the drierin a stream at a rate of about 62 pounds per minute. The stream ofcoated and dried pieces was split in half (recycle rate of 50%) and halfof the coated, dried pieces were redirected back to drum 1 using apneumatic conveyor, to enter drum 1 along with the uncoated stream. Theremainder of the stream of coated and dried pieces were collected fortesting.

FIG. 8 shows pieces of finished cereal sampled after a single pass (leftside), prior to beginning recycling, and about 1 hour of continuousrecycling at a 50% recycle rate (right side). As in Example 1, it wasobserved that recycled pieces had a smoother appearance. It was alsoobserved that, before recycling began, pieces with a single coatingappeared to have a thicker coating than pieces presumed to have receiveda single coating after recycling began.

Example 3

The procedure described in Example 2 was performed using a RTE cerealhaving a flat, circular shape rather than a spherical shape. FIG. 9shows pieces of finished cereal sampled after continuous recycling at a50% recycle rate.

It is to be understood that the described invention is not to be limitedto the disclosed embodiment, but on the contrary, is intended to covervarious modifications and equivalent arrangements included within thespirit and scope of the appended claims.

1. A system for making a food composition, the system comprising: a. anenrober configured to apply a coating to at least a portion of a surfaceof each food piece in a stream of food pieces to produce a stream ofcoated food pieces; b. a dryer configured to receive the stream ofcoated food pieces and produce a stream of dried coated food pieces; c.a splitting apparatus configured to split the stream of dried coatedfood pieces into at least two stream portions; and d. a conveyorapparatus configured to redirect at least one stream portion,representing from about 20% to 60% of the stream of dried coated foodpieces, back to the enrober for application of a second coating on theat least one stream portion.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein theenrober is configured to separately apply a liquid component of thecoating and a dry component of the coating.
 3. The system of claim 2,wherein the enrober comprises a first portion that applies the liquidcomponent and a second portion that applies the dry component.
 4. Thesystem of claim 1, further comprises a second enrober configured toapply a second coating to food pieces.
 5. The system of claim 4, furthercomprising a second conveyor apparatus configured to direct the at leastone stream portion through the second enrober.
 6. The system of claim 5,wherein the at least one stream portion directed to the second enroberis selected by size or weight.
 7. The system of claim 1, furthercomprising an apparatus configured to select coated pieces in the streamof coated food pieces by size or weight.
 8. The system of claim 1,wherein the conveyor apparatus comprises a pneumatic conveyor, a beltconveyor, a chain conveyor, a screw conveyor, a vibrating conveyor, aroller conveyor, or a combination thereof.
 9. The system of claim 1,wherein food pieces having one coating layer represent about 35% toabout 80% of the stream of food pieces, food pieces having two coatinglayers represent about 16% to about 23% of the stream of food pieces,and food pieces having at least three coating layers represent about 4%to about 42% of the stream of food pieces.
 10. The system of claim 1,wherein the food pieces are ready-to-eat (RTE) cereal pieces.
 11. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the food pieces are nuts or confections. 12.The system of claim 1, wherein the selected stream portion representsabout 30% to about 60% of the stream of dried coated pieces.
 13. Thesystem of claim 2, wherein the enrober includes a first drum-typeenrober component configured to apply the liquid component of thecoating to the stream of food pieces, a second drum-type enrobercomponent configured to tumble the dry component of the coating withfood pieces including the liquid component, a conveyor configured toconvey a stream of food pieces from the first drum-type enrobercomponent into the second drum-type enrober component and to convey thedry component into the second drum-type enrober component, and adispenser component configured to apply the dry component of the coatingto the conveyor beneath the stream of food pieces.
 14. A system formaking a food composition, the system comprising: a. an enrobercomprising a first drum-type enrober component configured to apply aliquid component of a coating to a stream of food pieces, a seconddrum-type enrober component configured to tumble a dry component of thecoating with food pieces including the liquid component, a conveyorapparatus configured to convey a stream of food pieces from the firstdrum-type enrober component into the second drum-type enrober componentand to convey the dry component into the second drum-type enrobercomponent, and a dispenser component configured to apply the drycomponent of the coating to the conveyor beneath the stream of foodpieces; b. a splitting apparatus configured to split the stream ofcoated food pieces into at least two stream portions; and c. a secondconveyor apparatus configured to redirect at least one stream portionback through the enrober.
 15. The system of claim 14, further comprisinga dryer configured dry the coating prior to the splitting apparatus. 16.The system of claim 14, further comprising: a second enrober configuredto apply a second coating to food pieces; and a conveyor configured todirect at least one stream portion through the second enrober.
 17. Thesystem of claim 16, wherein the at least one stream portion directed tothe second enrober is selected by size or weight.
 18. The system ofclaim 14, further comprising an apparatus configured to select coatedpieces in the stream of coated food pieces by size or weight.
 19. Thesystem of claim 14, wherein the at least one stream portion representsfrom about 20% to 60% of the stream of coated food pieces, and whereinfood pieces having one coating layer represent about 35% to about 80% ofthe stream of food pieces, food pieces having two coating layersrepresent about 16% to about 23% of the stream of food pieces, and foodpieces having at least three coating layers represent about 4% to about42% of the stream of food pieces.
 20. An enrober comprising a firstdrum-type enrober component configured to apply a liquid component of acoating to a stream of food pieces, a second drum-type enrober componentconfigured to tumble a dry component of the coating with food piecesincluding the liquid component, a conveyor apparatus configured toconvey a stream of food pieces from the first drum-type enrobercomponent into the second drum-type enrober component and to convey thedry component into the second drum-type enrober component, and adispenser component configured to apply the dry component of the coatingto the conveyor beneath the stream of food pieces.